Termite treatment: liquid, bait or fumigation, and how to choose

Termite control starts with which termite

Liquid termite treatment at the foundation

A liquid treatment places termiticide in the soil along and under the foundation so termites cannot reach the wood without passing through it. Outside, the technician digs a narrow trench against the foundation and treats the soil as it goes back in, often rodding deeper where the footing is low. Where there is a slab, a garage floor or a porch against the house, small holes are drilled through the concrete at intervals, the soil beneath is treated, and the holes are patched. In a crawl space, the soil along the inside of the foundation walls and around piers is treated too.

Modern termiticides fall into two groups. Repellent products keep termites away from the treated zone. Non-repellent products are undetectable to termites, which forage through the zone, pick up the active ingredient and spread it to others. Most professional liquid work today uses non-repellents, and the product label sets the concentration, the volume per foot of trench and the drilling pattern. University of Kentucky entomologists note that a typical job may use hundreds of gallons of diluted termiticide, and that liquid termiticides are meant to control termites for at least five years when applied according to the label.

Termite treatment near me: when bait stations fit

Termite bait stations work on the colony instead of the soil. Plastic stations are set into the ground around the house, typically 10 to 15 feet apart, and checked on a schedule that ranges from monthly to once a year depending on the system. Once termites are feeding in a station, the technician adds bait: cellulose containing a slow-acting growth regulator that stops termites from molting. Workers carry it back and share it, and over weeks to months the colony declines. The system is only as good as its monitoring, so the contract should say how often stations are checked and what happens when activity is found.

Baits suit houses with wells or cisterns near the foundation, heavy landscaping, or slabs that would need extensive drilling. They are slower than a liquid treatment to protect the house, which matters if termites are already inside the walls. And once the colony is gone, a bait system leaves no residual pesticide in the soil, so letting the yearly monitoring lapse carries more risk than with a liquid treatment.

Termite tenting for drywood termites

Drywood termites do not need soil, so soil treatment does nothing for them. When the infestation is spread through the house or hidden in walls and the attic, the reliable option is whole-structure fumigation: the house is covered with tarps and filled with a gas fumigant that penetrates every piece of wood. People, pets and plants leave, food and medicine are sealed in special bags or removed, and nobody goes back in until the house has been aired out and cleared with a gas detector. Fumigation kills the termites present but leaves no protection behind, so a new colony can move in later.

For small, accessible infestations, local treatments are an option: termiticide injected into the galleries, heat, or borate applied to bare wood. The trade-off is coverage: a local treatment only works on the wood it reaches.

Termite exterminator contracts: retreatment or repair

A termite treatment is usually sold with a warranty that is renewed every year for a fee, along with a yearly inspection. The single most important line in it is what the company does if termites come back. A retreatment warranty means they treat again under the warranty but do not pay for damage. A repair warranty adds payment for new damage, usually up to a limit, and costs more to keep. Read what voids it as well: the EPA's consumer guide warns that structural alterations made without telling the company can invalidate it, and soil piled against the siding, wood touching the ground and untreated moisture are common exclusions. Many firms will not warrant a spot treatment at all.

Some states write these terms into law, and the rules are worth knowing even if you live elsewhere, because they show what a careful contract looks like:

• Florida requires the first page to say in bold whether the contract is for repair and retreatment, retreatment only, or no warranty, and to list the exact annual renewal fee. After written notice, the company has 30 days to inspect and 90 days to retreat.
• Texas requires a written estimate before treatment, with a diagram of the structure, the areas of activity, the product label and the full warranty terms. A spot treatment there means an area of less than ten linear or square feet.
• Louisiana requires termite contracts to guarantee at least one year, to include an inspection before they expire, and to be reported to the state every month.

Termite treatment cost: what the quote is based on

Liquid treatment is priced by the linear feet of foundation, with extra for drilling slabs and for difficult access. Bait systems are priced by installation plus a yearly monitoring fee. Fumigation is priced by the cubic footage of the house under the tarps. Two quotes for the same house can differ widely because they describe different methods or different coverage; the pest control cost guide explains how to line them up.